Yokuryu
- Yokuryu is a Decepticon from the Victory portion of Generation 1 continuity family.
The only flier among the Dinoforce, Yokuryu (ヨクリュウ Yokuryū) often seems above it all, both literally and figuratively. While the other Dinoforcers are hard-working team players, Yokuryu is disinterested in effort and isn't particularly friendly with his fellows. Oh, he'll do what he's told (after all, Goryu's club hurts), but he won't do it with any real enthusiasm, and he'll only do just enough to consider the job "done". The easy life, that's what he's after.
If he weren't such a slacker, he'd be an ideal aerial combatant. He can nearly achieve light speed in flight, and his semi-autonomous Pteranodon shell's wings are capable of generating magnetic "nets" that can halt any foe in their tracks. This sets them up perfectly for his "Yoku-Pterano Fire" attack, a high-speed ramming attack where his shell becomes engulfed in high-heat flames.
But, well... effort. No thanks. Someone else'll cover for him, right?
Fiction
Victory cartoon
- Voice actor: Hirohiko Kakegawa (Japanese)
Years ago, Dinoforce raided on a Mars research ship, robbing it of as much energon as they could carry. The sheer amount of destruction they inflicted on the ship caused it to explode, resulting in the deaths of nearly all on board, including Jan's parents. The Dinoforce made their escape before Star Saber arrived, too late to save anyone but the infant Jan, who had been put into an escape pod. Attack! Leozack
When Deathsaurus revived the Decepticon campaign to take Earth, he unleashed the Dinoforce to steal energon from the humans' lunar operations. After tearing through a floating space station under construction, they descended on the Moon and attacked the lunar base, running rampant until the Brainmasters arrived. After Goryu was able to drop Braver a crevasse, the remaining two Autobots soon found themselves on the ropes until Star Saber arrived, who sent them to help evacuate the base while he took care of Dinoforce. Goryu tried to rally his troops into attacking the Autobot leader, and they almost did, but chickened out at the last moment before Star Saber flattened them anyway. When even Emperor Deathsaurus proved unable to stop Star Saber, the Decepticons all fled aboard the Thunder Arrow. The Brave Hero of the Universe - Star Saber
They barely had any time to recuperate, as Dinoforce was loudly (and violently) roused from their post-battle nap by Goryu, who had been tasked with destroying the Autobot Galaxy Base, where the lunar base refugees were waiting for transport back to Earth. They stopped at some floating wreckage, spotting the lone Autobot Wingwaver on his way from Planet V to the Galaxy Base, and Goryu decided that ambushing and killing the Autobot would be a good warmup. Wingwaver put up a good fight, but the sheer numbers were against him, and soon he found himself struggling to fend off all six of them. The Brainmasters intervened once again, giving Wingwaver the chance to escape. As the rest of the Dinoforce exited their shells to take on the Autobots, Goryu enacted a fairly savvy (for him) plan, sending the dino shells ahead to destroy the Galaxy Base while the Decepticons finished the fight with the Brainmasters. Unable to take the trio out even with superior numbers, Goryu called for combination, and to the Brainmasters' shock, the team merged into the gigantic Dinoking, who proved more than a match for the Autobots. Star Saber left the Galaxy Base to tackle Dinoking and send the Brainmasters back to defend the Galaxy Base. After taking several shots from Saber's "V-Star" weapon, Dinoking engaged the Autobot Supreme Commander in melee combat, but ended up getting absolutely trounced, and the team de-combined and fled for their lives.
Meanwhile, the dino shells used the absence of Star Saber to close the gap and begin wrecking the Galaxy Base. While they were able to do a massive amount of damage to the space station, their rampage was cut short as the shuttle at the top of Galaxy Base revealed itself to be the giant Autobot Galaxy Shuttle, who used the rocket thrusters in his feet to send the shells flying uncontrollably into the void of space. Sneak Attack! Dinoking
The Dinoforce accompanied Leozack (on Deathsaurus's orders) on a mission to kill Star Saber as the Autobot commander visited the Schwimmbad School in the Alps to drop off his adopted son Jan. After some mindless destruction of the school grounds, the Dinoforce joined into Dinoking once again at the arrival of the Brainmaster trio. But this time the Autobots combined as well, forming Road Caesar and besting the brute, while the Dinoforce's shells were driven off by Jan piloting the V-Star. And with Leozack gravely wounded, the Decepticons beat a hasty retreat, the rest of Dinoforce clinging desperately to Yokuryu as they made an aerial escape. Attack! Leozack
The Decepticons assembled in Deathsaurus's throne room to discuss a new plan, not to merely steal energy, but to steal an entire floating energy plant, allowing them to continuously power their war effort; Leozack, joined by fellow Breastforce soldiers Killbison, Jallguar and Drillhorn, made no effort to disguise their contempt for the Dinoforce. As the Dinoforce began their attack, Goryu, still nursing a grudge from his earlier humiliation, decided that the "take the whole plant" objective was a stupid plan for nerds, and ordered the team to go with their usual plan, "steal as much energy as you can carry and destroy everything else"... and had Yokuryu lightly toasted when the flier pointed out the original plan. Goryu's fun was soon interrupted by Dashtacker and Machtackle, and with the arrival of Wingwaver (and a just-shot-down Yokuryu), Goryu made the call to combine. Dinoking kept the Multiforce on the ropes, until he was distracted by Leozack and Drillhorn, who had arrived to yell at the Dinoforce for causing too much destruction. Their argument gave Multiforce the break they needed to combine into Landcross, and while he put up a good fight against Dinoking, interference from the Breastforce nearly got the Autobot combiner killed. But the timely arrival of Star Saber (sensing a pattern yet?) turned the tide, and the dino-combiner was once again beaten into his component robots. Goryu made the call to flee, leaving Leozack and Drillhorn to deal with two very large Autobots. Unite!! Multiforce
The Dinoforce took up training on a tropical island, with Goryu pushing his troops to work harder and harder. Yokuryu mostly just dodged coconuts hurled skyward by Doryu... mostly because Doryu managed to bean the taunting Yokuryu right between the eyes. Their training was interrupted by Leozack, who ordered them to join him in his newest scheme: taking over the Ocean Exhibition amusement park! Dinoforce, of course, went with the standard "smash everything" tactic. The Autobots arrived, but the Decepticons retreated to a building full of trapped humans, preventing the Autobots from attacking them. Leozack ordered the Dinoforce to destroy the Brainmasters, and they moved forward... and the Brainmasters ran away, the Dinoforce in hot pursuit, luring them away from the hostages and right into a royal pummeling. The two teams combined into their respective super robots, but the fight was short-lived as Dinoking caught sight of Leozack fleeing the battle, and dove into the water to follow suit. Back at the Thunder Arrow, the Dinoforce had a nice schadenfreude-fueled chuckle as they watched Leozack grovel and lie about the failed plan to Deathsaurus, who simply walked away without a word. Move Out! Rescue Team
The Dinoforce and Breastforce were sent to the Neo Uranium Mine in Africa to pillage the "beta uranium" excavated there. After taking the plant, Dinoforce was ordered to haul out the uranium while the Breastforce guarded a large number of human hostages they had taken to ensure the Autobots couldn't stop them. Goryu had the team pull tons of unrefined ore cases out of the storehouse into the open for pickup. Leozack returned to the surface to check up on them and order them around some more, and an irked Goryu led the charge to attack the oncoming Autobots... only to discover his troops weren't following for some reason. But the battle was soon joined, and Goryu commanded the Dinoforce to combine and take on Star Saber. This time, Dinoking revealed a new trick, generating a "Dino Power" energy tornado that held Star Saber in place until the Autobot cut his way out of it. Before Dinoking could attack again, Star Saber unleased his "Blade of Wrath" attack, sending spears of light energy from the heavens that pierced through the combiner, forcing him to disassemble and return to the Thunder Arrow empty-handed. Infiltration... The Uranium Mine
Despite their prior failures, the Decepticons had still managed to stockpile a considerable amount of energy resources, which they kept in a base hidden deep in the Amazon jungle. While the rest of Dinoforce were tasked with manually unloading the newly acquired energy caches from the Thunder Arrow, Yokuryu was assigned to long-range recon, keeping an eye out for Autobot intruders while riding on top of his shell. Spotting a flock of birds suddenly flying away in a panic, Yokuryu opened fire indiscriminately, starting multiple fires. He then decided to report back to the base, but ordered his Pteranodon shell to keep on watch in the area, and open fire on anything that moved. After making his report in-person, Goryu took him and Rairyu to investigate in case the disturbance was Autobot-caused... which it was. Spotting some suspicious bubbles in the river near where Yokuryu saw the birds, he had his shell generate a windstorm to reveal what it was. Suddenly, Blacker, Wingwaver and Machtackle appeared out of the foliage, Blacker diving in to rescue Dashtacker from the riverbed while the other Multiforcers provided cover fire. Blacker took off as a distraction, and the Dinoforcers single-mindedly gave chase, letting the Multiforce slip away and try and get out of the Decepticons' jamming field to call back to base. After quite a long chase, Blacker took a moment to rest, but Dinoforce had managed to keep on him. But Wingwaver had doubled back and after blasting Yokuryu away, knocked the two grounded Decepticons for a loop, giving him the chance to grab his injured commander and escape into the jungle. Explosion!! The Energy Base
Dinoforce was sent to accompany the Breastforce —now with Hellbat added to their ranks— to Marine City as backup for Drillhorn's plan to steal a massive fuel tanker, the Big Baron. Dinoforce were sent to plant a neutron bomb at a hidden location in the city. When the Autobots arrived, the Dinoforce retreated to the bomb's hiding place, Marine Tower, and lay in wait for their enemies. The six joined into Dinoking again to take out Saber, Laster and Blacker, the latter two using high-speed driving and combat maneuvers to actually topple the giant on their own while Saber took care of the Decepticons who were hijacking the fuel tanker. Tanker Hijack Operation
Victory comic
Yokuryu and the Dinoforce rode their shells into battle, ransacking the planet Earth. They attempted to escalate the devastation by forming Dinoking, but were stopped cold by the power of Landcross. So Cool! Our Ally, Star Saber!
Yokuryu stood watch as Kakuryu went through his daily fitness routine. Star Saber, Warrior of Love!
When Emperor Deathsaurus wanted to assemble a team of young boys for...um...anyway, he sent Yokuryu to Earth to kidnap Jan Minakaze. Interrupting the first meeting of the Autobot boy sidekicks, the Victories, Yokuryu scooped Jan up into his mouth and flew him back to the Thunder Arrow. Danger, Jan! Hurry, Star Saber!
As the Autobots infiltrated the Decepticon Space Stronghold, their sudden appearance scattered Yokuryu and the Dinoforce. The fighting soon ceased as the Decepticons revealed they only sought energy for their families, including the adorable Dinobabies. The Grand Victory War
2005 IDW continuity
Yokuryu was part of Deathsaurus's contingent of Decepticons stationed in their Warworld. In agreement with Tarn, Deathsaurus and his forces joined with the Decepticon Justice Division to continue the Decepticon dream and eliminate Megatron. The Permanent Revolution
Toys
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers
- Yokuryu (Dinoforce, 1989)
- ID number: D-326
- Accessories: Pteranodon shell, shell back, "Pterano Gun", right Dinoking fist
- A redeco of the Pretender Monster Wildfly, Yokuryu transforms into a gargoyle-like creature. He can also form either arm to the team's combined mode, Dinoking, though his nominal placement is as the giant's right arm.
- He comes with a rubbery, cyborg Pteranodon shell he hides inside. The back of the shell can also store his rifle and the Dinoking fist. This shell, like all the Dinoforce shells, has a pair of QC flaws that appear nearly universal: the shell has a nasty tendency to "sweat" an oily residue, plus the metallic paints age poorly, with the gold famously developing a green patina, while the silver just gets uneven and grody-looking. While some water and a little bit of hand-soap should take care of the slime, there's not much to be done about the green discoloration.
- Dinoking (Gift set, 1989)
- ID number: D-328
- Accessories: Pteranodon shell, shell back, "Pterano Gun", right Dinoking fist
- All six members of Dinoforce were available both in individual boxes, and in a complete six-piece gift set. While there are no differences in the toys themselves, the gift set lacks any bio or Tech Spec cards for the individual components, only having cards for the combined mode.
Notes
- Yokuryū corresponds with 翼竜, meaning "Wing Dinosaur". The term is used to refer to the pterosaurs.
- Of the not-Goryu-or-Kakuryu members of Dinoforce, Yokuryu has the most screen time and lines as an individual in the Victory cartoon. Likely this is just by virtue of being the only flier and therefore easier to have him, you know, do things the rest of the team can't, typically recon. Though like the other three, he definitely lacks any noteworthy personality other than "kind of stupid".
- The Victory anime depicted the Dinoforce members as carrying melee weapons, rather than the blasters the toys actually came with. Yokuryu carries a scythe, though he can also shoot energy from the spike at the top like it was a gun.
Foreign names
- English: Wildfly (Omni Productions dub)
- Mandarin: Chángzuǐguài (China, 长嘴怪, "Long-mouthed Monster")
